IRTCES NEWS (Nov. 30, 2006):  The Second International Conference on Estuaries & Coasts (ICEC-2006) was successfully held in Guangzhou, China on November 28-30, 2006. The ICEC-2006 was organized by the International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES) and Pearl River Water Resources Commission under the Ministry of Water Resources of China, sponsored by the Pearl River Hydraulic Research Institute and the Research Center on Pearl River Estuary & Coast of the Ministry of Water Resources of China. Thirty institutions, organizations and universities co-sponsored the conference, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR), World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research (WASER), International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), IAHR Asian and Pacific Division (IAHR-APD), National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering, the University of Mississippi, USA (NCCHE) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

The ICEC aims at providing opportunities for world-wide researchers, academicians, engineers and decision makers to hold discussions and show their most recent scientific and technical achievement, exchange information and make joint efforts on research and development in the field of estuaries and coasts. The central theme of the ICEC-2006 is “Advance the Estuarine and Coastal Engineering Research to Enhance the Ecological Environment”. The conference mainly covered four topics of estuarine and coastal processes, estuarine eco-environment and its protection, maintenance and management of waterways in estuaries and harbors and research technologies for estuarine engineering.

In the opening ceremony of the ICEC-2006, Mr. HU Siyi, Vice Minister of Water Resources delivered an opening speech. Mr. LIU Ning, Chief Engineer of MWR and Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee of the conference, Professor Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, Former Chairman of IAHS and Director of International Center for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM), Professor Huib de Vriend, Director Science and Technology of Delft Hydraulics, Mr. KUANG Shangfu, Director of the IRTCES and President of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Mr. YUE Zhongming, Director of Pearl River Water Resources Commission delivered speeches respectively at the conference. The conference was presided by Mr. CHEN Mingzhong, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation, Science and Technology of MWR.

More than 260 participants from more than 20 countries or regions attended the conference. About 100 participants presented and exchanged their up-to-date researches and had discussions on some hot issues related to estuaries and coasts. Seven keynote lectures and 18 invited lectures were also delivered in the plenary and parallel sessions. The keynote lectures were:

·Ning LIU (China): Estuary Regulation in China -- Status and Strategy;
·Jiyu CHEN (China): Harmonious development between utilization and protection of tidal flat and wetland---A case study in Shanghai area);
·Dano Roelvink (The Neatherland): Morphological modeling of estuaries and inlets in support of ecological evaluations;
·Qiusheng WANG (China): Introduction to Pearl River estuary regulation;
·Scott C. Hagen (USA): Review of the NOPP real-time forecasting system for winds, waves and storm tides of tropical cyclones;
·Yoshiyuki Nakamura (Japan): Restoration activities of tidal flats in Japan; and
·Lixing DUAN (China): Research on Strategic Framework for Treatment of Pearl River Estuary

In the evening of November 30, 2006, Prof. HU Chunhong, Deputy Director and Secretary General of IRTCES chaired the closing ceremony. Dr. Tom O'Donoghue from Aberdeen University, UK, a representative of the participants, said: “We have had a very fruitful and enjoyable three-or-so days in Guangzhou”, and “how impressed we have been by the welcome, warmth and hospitality shown to us by our hosts here in China. It really has been special and will be remembered for some time to come.” Prof. Hitoshi Tanaka, representative of the next ICEC, the Tohoku University, Japan, announced that the third ICEC will be held in the Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan in 2009, where Lu Xun, a famous writer in China had studied medical science. Prof. Tanaka welcomed all again in Sendai, Japan in 2009. Prof. WANG Qiusheng, the vice Chairman of the conference Scientific Committee and the Vice President of the Pearl River Water Resources Commission, MWR thanked for all participants’ support and looked forward to meeting again in the next ICEC.

During the conference, a technical tour to the Humen and Modaomen outlets of the Pearl River estuary was organized.

The ICEC-2006 had drawn attentions worldwide; about 250 abstracts had been received by the local organizing committee. The conference proceedings finally included 158 high quality papers after reviewing process. Two volumes of the proceedings were published by the Guangdong Economy Publishing House, 1257 pages, ISBN 7-80728-422-6.  (by Cheng LIU)